Our vision to connect everything

Friday, 21st July 2017

As we thrive under our new ownership, we are presented with lots of exciting opportunities that enable us to fulfil on our commitment to deliver an outstanding digital experience to train operating companies (TOCs).

Our ground-breaking vision of the ‘networked train’ from 2007 remains relevant today. Yet now we see a great opportunity to connect not just the passengers, but also train builders, maintainers and on-board staff – all of whom play a pivotal part in the passenger experience - and this is part of our future strategic vision.

Connectivity is not all about technology. By reaching out to a broader set of stakeholders through the solutions and systems we create and deliver, we are connecting the whole on-board ecosystem. The TOCs and their passengers will always remain our core audience and central to what we do, but we are expanding to other stakeholders that can take advantage of our offer.

Connecting to a wider base of stakeholders plays a valuable role in enriching the passenger experience, by responding to market needs and solving connectivity challenges through our heritage of innovation. Passengers are crucial to the TOC – yet train guards and drivers, conductors and caterers and builders and maintainers, all serve to enhance the passenger experience too.

Bringing together passenger connectivity, information and entertainment with predictive maintenance and fleet efficiency really does transform a TOCS ability to improve it passengers’ experience. By achieving greater convergence between our connectivity platform and our passenger information services, we enable personalised journey information and bespoke sales services. Our OBIS solution will lead in this field through its ability to feed information simultaneously to both the train’s screens as well as the passenger’s devices.

Monitoring and reporting also plays a key role in our vision, providing a holistic view of the passenger experience. We offer solutions which provide TOCS with both timely and historic insight into connectivity usage and fleet performance, enabling them to monitor, respond and report on fleet operational issues in a far more intelligent, proactive way.

The Internet of Things provides a myriad of opportunities. By connecting everything on the train we remain at the forefront of the digital agenda, transforming train travel and supporting TOCs to deliver an exceptional journey experience for their passengers.

To help us continue to innovate with TOCs to realise our vision, do please share your views on industry challenges and opportunities in our rail ICT survey. It is only through engaging with the industry in a collaborative and open way that we all can realise this potential for transformation.

Reece Donovan

Reece is the Group CEO of Nomad Digital, with over 25 years of experience in the Information Technology sector across multiple industries. Previously Nomad's Group Chief Operating Officer for three years, Reece was accountable for all delivery and services globally for Nomad Digital. Prior to joining Nomad in 2014, Reece was Senior Vice President of Global Services at CSG International, a leader in the provision of Cable and Telecommunications billing solutions. Before this, Reece was President of Global Services at Intec Telecom, a global listed software company, and COO of system integrator Steria’s Enterprise Practice.